The Bubble
It is Monday, July 3rd… a holiday in the real world but just another Great Day in “The Bubble”. I don’t know exactly when the campers started calling camp by this nickname but am certain it was after the smartphone was invented. 2009 marked a turning point for campers, even though nobody knew it at the time. Phones became more than just a way of talking to friends and family (something campers would hide and counselors seek in those first few days of the session). They became crystal clear reflections and connections to everything in the world. Every bit of hometown drama, national news, celebrity gossip, and marketing trash… in short, the intrusion of the background “noise” of the world was impossible to ignore. Campers no longer hid their phones on opening day, they turned them in without hesitation or regret. The Bubble was born.
You can imagine how appealing a phone-free month is at camp. While I do not advocate bubbles for adults, I certainly do for children (and yes, a 17-year-old high school senior still counts as a child). It is hugely beneficial to take the crutch of a phone away from children and drop those phone free children into a place like camp. The shock of this change seems to activate a part of the brain that is not used that much anymore. The part of the brain that encourages words and jokes… imagination, drawing, writing, and crafts… dancing, singing, laughing… running, swimming, climbing… making friends, and having deep, meaningful conversations. Campers LOVE it, and so do I.
So while we know that tomorrow is the 4th (a super fun day at camp), we are fully engaged in the routines of our first Monday at camp. We changed tables in the dining hall (making the volume of chatter so much less, it felt dull compared to yesterday). We stay with this table until Sunday, the volume of chatter rising every day. We are in our regular MWF classes (there was a lot of class changes last week, but from here on out, we encourage the girls to stick to their schedule). This routine will be interrupted with Challenge Day tomorrow, making this day all the more appreciated. We chuckled at Breakfast Club (our last talk on Social growth, encouraging the girls to expect the best from each other, and not take offense quickly as it is seldom intended). Tonight will be an EP that divides the camp into two groups by age, each group given an activity very different than the others. The girls will either be in the water (Waterpark & Putt Cove will be rocking) or at Cake Decorating in the FORT (prizes awarded to the best cake with the theme “Night of the Starz”). Later on, we will swap groups so nobody is left out of either amazingly fun activity.
Cecilia Glenn performed a great concert under difficult circumstances last night. We started on the Pagent Court but could not see the moonrise due to the ominous cloud cover. Radar predicted the storm would miss us, but it was not to be. After just three songs, we moved everyone into the Pavilion. Cecilia thought it was a similar situation to the Taylor Swift Nashville concert (which she and several campers attended last month). Everyone was singing and dancing when the rain hit with a fury. We laughed as the sound and the fury of the storm quickly passed. Our concert ended right on time, and we finished another great day with crackers as normal. I congratulate the campers and counselors (who adapted without drama) and the sound team (who broke down and set up two venues in ten minutes)! Well Done, Everyone!
Details of the Day
- Breakfast Eggs, Sausage Links, Grits
- Breakfast Club Finished Social Growth theme
- Joke In Stink (joke about a skunk family)
- Weather Partly Cloudy, 83, slight chance of rain.
- Lunch Shaved Pork Sandwiches with cranberry chutney, snickerdoodle cookies
- Dinner Fusili Norcia (an awesome pasta dish)
- EP Rotating Nights of Fun